Largest Internet Security breach – 8 Ways to stay safe online !

A U.S. security firm has uncovered what appears to be the largest Internet security breach in recent memory, conducted by a group of Russia-based hackers.

According to Milwaukee-based firm Hold Security, which conducted an 18-month investigation into the breach, the online gang stole 1.2 billion username and password combos, as well as more than 500 million email addresses.

The hackers pulled off the data heist, which ultimately scooped up 4.5 billion records, using unsuspecting systems of botnet network victims (in this case, computers with viruses that allowed a single operator to control a large group of affected systems) to test websites for SQL vulnerabilities. When a vulnerability was discovered, the hackers were then able to execute SQL injections, enabling them to send malicious commands to a website and steal its data, including usernames and passwords.

The group managed to steal information from 420,000 web and FTP sites, Hold Security said.

“Accounts are hacked and credentials are stolen every day; however, the number of credentials reportedly stolen is at a massive scale,” Eric Chiu, president of cloud company HyTrust, told Mashable. ”

This is a huge wake-up call to consumers and companies that attackers are going after personal and work accounts in order to impersonate our online personas.

This is a huge wake-up call to consumers and companies that attackers are going after personal and work accounts in order to impersonate our online personas.“

To help at that level, webroot has made a list of 8 tips that can help you minimize the risks of your information being stolen and increase your safety online.

Use two-factor authentication whenever possible.

Two-factor authentication adds another layer of security when logging into a website, be it e-mail, banking, or other websites. Some websites, such as Google, will text you a code when you login to verify your identity while others have small devices that you can carry around to generate the code. Authenticator apps are also available on all major smartphone platforms. Other types of two-factor authentication do exist as well, so look in the settings of your banking, shopping, and e-mail hosts for the option.It is the best option to protect yourself from internet security breach.

Signup for login notifications

This security layer is often used in place of two-factor authentication, including by websites such as Facebook. If your account is accessed from an unfamiliar location, a notification is sent via e-mail, app, or text-message to the account holder. This is a great layer of security that offers you on-the-go protection. This feature, if offered, can usually be found in the security settings of the website, such as banking and social media, you are accessing.

Use a secure password

We have all signed up for some website with a basic password, thinking there is no way that someone would want to hack our account. But that may not be the case. Setting an easy password on one website often leads to that password being used on many websites. The easier you make it for a thief to brute-force access your account, the more likely you are to have your other accounts hacked. By establishing a mixture of characters, numbers, and letters into a password, recommended to be 10 characters or more, you add a high level of difficulty for any brute-force password theft.

Change your passwords regularly

There is a reason your office requires regular password changes for your e-mail. Even if your password is compromised, by changing it regularly across all your accounts, you remove the chance of your account being accessed. A pro-tip would be to set a reminder for every 90 days on your calendar with a link to all your accounts settings pages. It makes it easiest to click through and make the changes regularly.

Only access your accounts from secure locations

It might only be 30 seconds of access to your bank account on that free WiFi at the coffee shop, but if the network has been compromised, that is more than enough time to collect all the data needed for a thief. While the convenience factor is there, if you must access the accounts, you might want to look into a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to ensure an encrypted connection to your home or work network.

HTTPS access

In most browsers and information heavy websites, there is a way to force a HTTPS connection when available. This connection adds another level of encrypted security when logging in, making it even more difficult for data thieves to gather your information when logging in. To check if you are on a HTTPS connection, look for a padlock in the URL bar in the browser or check the URL itself for it to begin with HTTPS.

Increase junk filtering and avoid clicking through on e-mails

You just received an e-mail letting you know that you have a new deposit pending and need to login and verify. Many phishing schemes start with something looking very innocent and official, but lead unassuming users to websites designed to collect the information direct from you. If you receive an e-mail from one of the account-holding websites, open a new tab and go directly to the website instead of clicking the links provided. It adds only a few seconds to the access but keeps you out of any legit-looking phishing websites. Most legitimate services will never ask you for your login credentials, so make sure to avoid giving out this information.

By increasing your level of junk filtering with your e-mail client as well, many of these e-mails will be caught before making it to your inbox.

Use an up-to-date security program

Whether you use Webroot SecureAnywhere or another product on the market today, ensure you have the most up-to-date version and have the correct security settings enabled. Security programs are designed to keep the malicious files such as key-loggers and data-miners off your computer and the user protected. This direct layer of security ensures your devices, from phones to tablets to computers, are all protected when you are downloading and accessing files. Note that some programs, such as Webroot SecureAnywhere, are always up-to-date and require no further action from the user.

You can read about another trending article about Secured Online banking, Click HERE.

While the threats to online accounts are out there, the tips to staying safe can help you stay protected and utilize features often already available by the companies and their websites, and most without costing you additional money. The tips above should help ensure your security online while still providing the convenience online access offers.

And we make sure that our readers and consumers stay 100% safe and protected. Our duty is to ensure your protection. A Computer is not just an electronic machine, it’s a door to everything. If you are having problem securing your computer or browser we are always here to help. Just go for our Free Live Chat facility to get expert assistance at once or you can simply create a Support Ticket to resolve your issue.

Follow Us On Social Media

Become A Contributor

At tehyuga, we strive to educate our community and bring them free information to help them with latest tech trends and resolving tech issues. This is why we welcome guest post submissions on our blog and encourage you to share your actionable content with us.